Over the years, the maternity bed on which a woman rests while giving birth has evolved into a useful aid for assisting in the birthing process. A maternity bed includes many of the elements of a conventional hospital bed. The bed has a base that forms the underlying support structure and a litter located above the base that serves as a support frame for the mattress on which the woman rests. Like many other hospital beds, a maternity bed is provided with a lift mechanism that raises and lowers the litter relative to the base. A maternity bed is further constructed so that the portion of the bed that supports the woman's upper body, referred to as the Fowler section, is able to pivot relative to the adjacent section, the seat section. The inclined Fowler section provides back support for the birthing mother so that she can be in an optimal position to facilitate delivery. A maternity bed is also usually provided with foot rests that are selectively positioned for the placement of the woman's feet. The foot rests and inclined Fowler section provide support for the mother so that she can generate muscle contractions along the birth canal that facilitate the delivery. A maternity bed is also usually designed so that the portion of the litter located anatomically below the seat section, referred to as the foot section, can be removed during the delivery process. This enables medical personnel to position themselves adjacent the open end of the birth canal so that they can provide the necessary assistance to the mother and child.
While current maternity beds have proved useful for facilitating the birthing process, they are not without some disadvantages. In a maternity bed, for example, it is desirable to design the lift mechanism so that the litter can be positioned both as close to the floor as possible and at normal, bed-height. This is because, as part of the delivery process, many women are encouraged to walk as much as possible prior to the commencement of the delivery in order to ease the delivery. The positioning of the bed close to the floor makes getting into and out of the bed a relatively easy task. Problems have arisen because a maternity bed should also be designed to pivot the litter into what is referred to as the Trendelenburg position. When the bed is in this position, the litter is oriented so that the woman's head and upper body are below her waist. It is desirable to pivot the bed into this position if, during the birthing process, the woman develops a cardiac condition and there is a need to ensure blood flow to the brain.
Beds have been provided with mechanisms that make it possible for both lift the litter and pivot it in the Trendelenburg position. However, many of these beds employ a manually actuated linkage for moving the litter into the Trendelenburg position. A disadvantage of this type of bed is that it requires medical personnel to spend time physically pivoting the litter; this takes away from the time available for attending to the woman. There have been attempts to provide beds with motor-driven systems for pivoting the bed into the Trendelenburg position. One disadvantage of these mechanisms is that the required numerous components. Still another disadvantage of some of these systems is that they operate in conjunction with the bed lift assembly and require the litter be lifted to its highest possible position before it can be pivoted into the Trendelenburg state. Clearly, a limitation associated with these beds is that if the litter is not already in full height position, time is lost having to properly position it before it can moved into the Trendelenburg position. The time lost having to raise the litter can, in some instances, be a factor in reducing the adverse effects the woman's medical condition.
Still another drawback of many maternity beds is that while they are provided with pivoting Fowler sections, the Fowler sections are not readily adjustable for women with varying body shapes and sizes. A relatively short woman, for example, may not be able to press her back against the Fowler even if it is in a fully inclined, almost upright, position. Furthermore, when a woman small in stature is positioned so that her back is against the Fowler section, the open end of her birth canal may not be positioned along the rear edge of the seat section, which is typically the optimal position for medical personnel to assist in the delivery process. In contrast, when the Fowler section is inclined, it may be difficult for a relatively tall woman to comfortably and safely be positioned so that her seat section rests firmly on the underlying mattress seat section.
Moreover, some maternity beds are designed so that in order to set their foot rests in position, it is necessary to flip-over and/or remove portions of the leg-and-foot section of the bed under which the foot rests are located. This may require repositioning and/or lifting of the woman's legs to gain access to the foot rests. Sometimes, having to move a woman's legs in order to be able to lift the foot-and-leg portions of a mattress in order to access the foot rests may require the attention of more than one individual. Furthermore, it is common practice to provide a maternity bed not only with foot rests but leg rests designed to hold the woman's legs open during the birthing process. Many of these leg rests are separate units that are installed by placement into complementary coupling mechanisms associated with the foot rests. The time required to place these leg rests in position likewise can sometimes divert medical personnel from more important tasks.
Still another limitation of some maternity beds is that the foot frame, the portion of the litter which supports the foot-and-leg mattress, may be difficult to quickly separate from the other sections of the litter. If there is a need to quickly access the woman's birth canal, medical personnel may lose some time in their efforts to separate this frame and mattress from the other elements of the bed.